Ghost is the newest Rolls-Royce and one with a unique dynamism true to its luxurious heritage. Its inspiration was found in the spirit of the 1930s - that unmistakable era of adventure - and it is designed, engineered and crafted to take the driving experience to new limits. In fact, the Ghost is more driver-focused than any Rolls-Royce before it. It goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, comparable to many sports cars, despite its substantial size and weight.

Stepping off a 6 ½-hour flight to San Francisco and into a chauffeured Rolls-Royce doesn’t happen every day, so when Rolls-Royce Motor Cars invited 25A magazine to experience first-hand the Rolls-Royce lifestyle as well as the unveiling of the 2013 Rolls-Royce Ghost, we couldn’t pass it up. For a few days in Pebble Beach, my life would be transformed to a status typically experienced only by celebrities, royalty and the super-wealthy.

Ever since the beginning of time, man has pondered the existence of ghosts and of life after death. Are some of the North Shore mansions haunted? Do spectral beings show up on film and make their ethereal voices heard during the night? You bet they do, and much more. But despite what we’ve been led to believe, there are solid scientific explanations for most of the strange things that do happen.

What causes a house to become haunted in the first place and why mansions in particular? Why not split levels or a Levittown home? Hollywood movies make a spookfest out of anything with over 40 rooms, so we have been brainwashed to expect 100-year-old Gothic gabled fortresses to be harboring ghosts. The dark and gloomy architecture alone tends to conjure up phantom visions in diaphanous white to float ominously out of the shadows. Add to that a creepy attic, hidden chambers and some of the mysterious events that often took place in those old manor houses and you have the perfect setting for a hair-raising experience. Paranormal researchers claim it is the events that took place in the past that is key. In order to have a real haunting, such as seeing, hearing voices, feeling, or even smelling flowers in the dead of winter, or anything out of the ordinary, something has to trigger the phenomenon. Sometimes in old houses you might see a figure walking up and down the stairs, or hear footsteps on the floor above you, or a door opening and closing; lights may flicker, music may even play in a far off room – all very normal, unless you’re alone in the house.